New pet shop rules to stop puppy farms come into force

Pet shops must keep detailed records on every dog and cat they sell as part of the state government's bid to shut down so-called "puppy farms".

From Thursday, shops must keep records of where their dogs and cats come from in a bid to "give consumers more confidence that the animals purchased from pet shops have been sourced from ethical breeders", according to a statement from Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford.

The move is part of a suite of measures to stop unethical breeding practices, including a limit of five litters per animal and 10 breeding animals per breeder.

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Legislation for further reforms is expected later this year, including a requirement for pet shops to source their animals from registered shelters.

Torro was purchased from a Perth puppy store and was later found to have come from a puppy farm.

Bob Croucher, acting chief executive of the Pet Industry Association of Australia, said the industry supported the effort to keep better records, but the full suite of reforms was likely to put many of his members out of business.

"We as an association are not happy with pet shops not being able to sell pets," he said.

He said taking pure-bred animals out of shops would force buyers onto the internet, where it was impossible to tell the "ethical breeders from the cowboys".

Greg Kirby of Upmarket Pets in Melbourne's CBD said the government had been co-opted by the Greens on the policy and was using the language of "animal liberation" to the detriment of responsible pet businesses..

He has previously told Fairfax Media that another aspect of the government's reforms, which would force stores to source their dogs from shelters rather than breeders, would force him to sack up to 15 workers.

"The problem is, the state government doesn't even know what it's doing," Mr Kirby said. "We believe we are the solution."

The reforms come into force as outrage continues over the case of a $2300 puppy bought from a pet store in Perth that collapsed nine days after it was purchased.

It later emerged that the puppy had travelled 4000 km to Perth from a breeder in NSW, and that the breeder had previously been found in breach of animal welfare regulations.

Mr Croucher said the industry regularly transported such animals across the country, but that the pet shop had done wrong by selling a sick animal.

"We did the only thing we could do: we cancelled their membership," he said.